produce. that's why we have fewer good jobs in this country and it's why we see more and more of the profits and more and more of the gross incomes that swell the page checks of a lot of people at the top coming from investment banking and some of the big of the financial firms in the country. i don't think that's healthy for the country, as a matter of fact. so i voted against mr. bernanke. i voted for cloture because i wasn't somebody who wanted to prevent a vote on it, but i did decide long ago i was not going to be supportive. let me make one final point. mr. bernanke during the crisis opened up the federal reserve board to give direct loans to investment banks. the first time ever. they've been giving direct loans to commercial banks, but never to investment banks. he opened up the window to give loans to investment banks. in my judgment the american people and the united states congress have a responsibility to know who got those loans, how

much, and what were the terms. we have written to the chairman of the federal reserve board, myself, senator grassley, and eight others, to say, you now have a responsibility to tell us who got that money and what were the terms? his answer to us is i have no intention of telling you. that is not acceptable to me and should not be acceptable to the congressor the american people. and that's -- congress or the american people. that's another reason i will not advance this nomination madam president, i yield the floor and make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: madam president, i first take this time to talk about former senator charles

mack na thrc --mack was a true e best sense of the word. he became a voice for those who had no voice and fought for better conditions for working people and he took bold, principleprincipled stands. mack was one of my heroes an considered him a friend and adviser. he was first elected to congress in 1906, he served during the struggle for civil rights and the vietnam war. his strong stands garnered respect from both sides of the aisle prompting then majority leader mike mansfield to characterize mack as the

conscience of the senate. mack was often at odds with his own party. in 1970 he denounced the military into laos and condemned the watergate stand and work for finance reform. he earned a place on president nixon's enemy list. mack was an important supporter of the civil rights movement helping to craft an open housing law. in 1965 he traveled to selma, alabama, to visit martin luther king, jr. who was in jail. in 1976 at a party for mack, the president of the naacp said, i say thank god for mac mathias. he was an outstanding advocate for congress. he was committed to the environment, he proposed legislation to protect the chesapeake bay, a antetum natiol

battlefield and helped to create the c&o canal historical park. in the 110th congress he traveled to washington to help lobby fellow republicans for a bill to combat election fraud. was a leader for campaign finance reform. a subject that the congress would have to revisit in citizens united v. the federal election commission. he remarked that no problem confronting our nation is greater than that of our steadily eroding confidence in our political system. he was so right. he understood that democracy is depended on inclusion and on citizens who participate in the process and have confidence their view also be heard and fairly considered. today i urge my colleagues to pause for a moment to remember a gentleman from maryland who cared deeply for our nation and

understood that our democracy depends on strong leaders who have courage, intelligence, and integrity. mack mathias was such a leader. madam president, i would ask that my comments on the economy and small businesses appear separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: madam president, i have introduced today the boosting enterprise -- entrepreneurship and jobs act that i believe is desperately needed. i think it's very clear that our economy, which is coming out of the worst recession since the great depression, has turned the corner. but we need to create more jobs here in america. we know that. we know that one out of 10 americans who want to work cannot find jobs. and our first responsibility must be to help create more jobs so that our economy can rebound

and grow. to do that, we need to invest in small businesses. i was pleased to hear the president of the united states last night talk about the importance of small business in our recovery and as we develop our policy need to focus on helping small businesses grow. on american recovery and reinvestment act, we took action, increased the loan limits under the small business administration. we were able to -- to make it less expensive for businesses to borrow from the small business administration much these were good steps that we took. i was proud of an amendment that i offered to increase the surety bond limits so that small companies could get work in this economy. i was proud of the amendment to increase the s.b.a.'s budget so they could have the capacity to help small companies with technical assistance in order to

get government jobs. all of that has helped. all of that has helped. we all know that 99.7% of all firms in america are small businesses. that's the economic engine of america. just over half of the private sector employees work for small companies. we've got to pay attention to small companies if we're going to grow out of this economic problem. 44% of the total u.s. private payroll comes from small employers. 64% of the net new jobs over the past 15 years came from small businesses. 97.3% of all identified exporters came from small companies. and, madam president, on a per employee basis for those companies that applied for patents, small companies are -- have 13 times more patents per employee than larger companies.

that's where innovation comes from. i know in new hampshire, i can tell you in maryland, i look at companies every day, small companies coming up with the innovation that's will lead america in the future. they come up with the new ways to deal with our problems. it's the small companies that are the most prolific in providing that type of innovation to our society. whether it's maryland, new hampshire or any of our states. so it's for that reason, madam president, that i've introduced this legislation. this legislation would provide some additional tools to help small businesses create new jobs. we need new jobs. it establishes a temporary three-year refundable tax credit for new hires by small businesses. businesses up to 25 employees would be eligible for the refundable tax credit equal to 15% of the first $2,000 wages of new hires. now that's a strong incentive

for a company to put on new employees. it establishes a credit to help small companies deal with providing health benefits for their employees. the two issues i hear most from small businesses is the affordability of health insurance and the availablity of credit. both are dealt with through this legislation by providing a way in which small companies can have more affordable health insurance and by providing a way in which small companies can access directly s.p.a. loans. following up on what the president said last night, this legislation would set aside $30 billion from the tarp funds so that small companies could get directly s.b.a. loans. i think that's the way to do it, madam president. because there is a reluctancy in the -- among banks to lend money to small businesses. even though today 90% of that

loan is guaranteed by the s.b.a. my legislation would use the same standard for s.b.a. to make direct loans, basically 100% guarantee by the federal government remember than 90%. then we know the loans are going to be made. i can't tell you how many companies i talked to in maryland who are credit worthy. they're prepared to hire more workers. they're prepared to believe in our economy and believe in our future. the problem is they don't have a bank. the -- a bank to partner with. if they had an existing relationship with a community bank, they may be okay. but if they -- don't to try to establish a relationship today is very difficult. the president recognized that last night when he talked about the credit crunch affecting small companies. we haven't eased that up. this legislation would provide for the s.b.a. using the same standards it use today for their s.b.a. loans to make direct loans to small companies in

order to get our economy back on track by helping small businesses. it will create more jobs. it increases the s.b.a. program from $2 million to $5 million. it increases the microloan program to $5,000. it increases the 504 program to to $5.5 million. these increases are loan limits are desperately needed if we're going to be realistic in today's marketplace and the types of loans that businesses need in order to expand jobs. two things this bill does that i want to mention are a direct help to small business. one, there is a sense of congress that says the s.b.a. should be a cabinet level position. i think we need to make sure that an advocate for small business has the ear of our president. now, we know what happened in 2009. we know that we had a bailout --

that we had to bail out wall street. we know we had to deal with the large banks in order to save our system from all going off a cliff. we understand that. we also know there were certain commitments made to help small businesses, and yet it never got down to our community banks, it never got down to our states, it didn't get to our small businesses. well, we need the advocate for small businesses to have a direct line to the president, and for that reason i urge that the s.b.a. administrator be part of the cabinet. another part of this bill is a sense of congress that financial institutions that have benefited from our pollute carry out what they said they would do, and that is loan money to small companies. they say they're doing it, but the audits show just the reverse, that they are not making these type of loans. i think it would be interesting to see exactly what type of loans these banks that relied upon the federal government are making to help our communities, and i think we would all be

disappointed to see their lack of participation in small company financing which could create jobs in our community. madam president, the last provision of this bill provides for offsets to make sure it is fully paid. i don't believe we should add to the deficit. i think this bill will help create jobs, will help us deal with the economic growth of america, will help us deal with narrowing the budget deficit through economic growth, but i think we all have responsibilities to make sure we have adequate offsets in the bill so that we don't add further to the federal deficit. that's called budget discipline. we talked a lot about that today on the floor of the united states senate. this bill is fully paid for through offsets. so, madam president, i just urge my colleagues that as we look in the weeks ahead at what we'll call a jobs bill, a bill that will help put more americans to work, and i fully support that, that we follow the leadership of

our president. the first thing he mentioned last night in his state of the union address is that we have got to pay attention to small businesses. well, i agree with the president, and i hope that a major part of our jobs bill will be provisions that will provide tax credits for new job hires, it will provide help for small businesses dealing with health insurance, it will increase the s.b.a. capacity to make loans to small businesses, and indeed will provide a new avenue for opening up credit to small businesses, putting a spotlight also on the banking community so they do more than they should to help small businesses grow so that we can create new jobs and grow our economy. that should be our first priority, and i pledge to work with my colleagues in the senate, work with the administration so we can get the job done here in the united states senate. with that, madam president, i

thank you for the attention, and i would yield the floor. mr. levin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president, i recently returned from a trip to pakistan and afghanistan with senator al franken. we heard a great deal of troubling news out of afghanistan over the past few months. casualties have increased, the political situation has been unsettled. based on what we saw and heard during our trip, i am somewhat more optimistic that we will succeed in afghanistan. i'm a lot more optimistic now than i was after my last visit to afghanistan in september. now, success to me is defined as preventing the taliban from returning to power at the same time that we strengthen the afghan security forces to take responsibility for afghan security in order to ensure stability and -- in afghanistan. over the course of three days, we met with key civilian and military leaders in both

pakistan and afghanistan, and, madam president, i would ask unanimous consent that the next two paragraphs of my statement listing our meetings with various leaders be inserted in the record at this time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: madam president, our men and women in uniform are performing magnificently. we visited with our troops in the field in kandahar, and they are living and operating in a difficult environment with only basic accommodations, yet their morale is high and they are eager to carry out their mission, and they have some of the best leadership that our military has to offer in isaf commander general stanley mcchrystal, general rodriguez, general caldwell. on the other side, they are putting together the diplomatic and technical expertise in kabul and in the field to match our military effort. now, one reason that i'm more optimistic now than when i visited afghanistan in september is that our counterinsurgency

strategy is taking hold. our troops are comfortable with the new focus on securing the afghan people. this requires that our troops remain with the afghan people and not just clear towns and villages of taliban and then leave the afghans to fend for themselves when the taliban return. our troops understand and embrace this people-centered approach. as british major general nick carter, commander of the coalition forces of the south, said -- "if we show confidence and mutual trust, the population will look after us." the afghan people are more optimistic than they have been in the recent past. a recent abc news survey found that 70% of the afghans polled said that afghanistan is headed in the right direction. a significant jump from a year ago. over 60% of afghans expect that their children will have a

better life. the taliban remain extremely unpopular, and 68% of afghans continue to support the presence of our troops in their country. i have long been convinced that our principal mission in afghanistan should be training the afghan security forces, and that drove my belief that we should not focus on adding more u.s. combat forces except where we needed to -- need it to train, equip, and support afghan security forces. as i put it when the president was considering additional combat forces, i supported a show of commitment but said that commitment could be shown by additional trainers and support personnel, along with a flow of equipment to afghan forces. i expressed then and believe now that our major mission should be a surge of afghan forces to take on the taliban. afghan security forces will ultimately win or lose the long battle with the taliban. our support will help, but our

growing presence has a down side -- a growing footprint which is the physical and rhetorical propaganda target for the taliban. we heard in our conversations that president obama's west point speech in december has had a tangible, positive impact in ways that i believe are the most significant in afghanistan. according to lieutenant general bill caldwell, the head of our nato training command, the number of new recruits signing up for the afghan army has skyrocketed from 3,000 in november to over 11,000 recruits in training today. the training command has had to turn recruits back because they didn't have enough trainers on hand, and lieutenant general caldwell told us forcefully and clearly that what energized the afghan leadership to call for and to reach out to new recruits

was the july, 2011, date that president obama set for the beginning of reductions in u.s. troops in afghanistan. even more than the pay increase, which was announced for afghan troops, general caldwell said that setting that date by president obama made clear to the afghan government and to the afghan people that president obama means business when he says that our presence in afghanistan is not an open-ended commitment. afghan leaders became focused on manning for the shift in principal responsibility from coalition forces to their forces. it is highlighted by that july, 2012 -- 2011 date, and they took urgent steps to increase recruitment for the afghan army. while it is too early to

determine if the surge in u.s. combat forces will have the effect that president obama and general mcchrystal intend, it is not too early, in other words, to see a positive effect towards accomplishing the mission of strengthening and training the afghan army. a key to the success of that mission will be partnering with the afghan security forces in regional commands south, in the kandahar area which we visited, coalition and afghan units are partnering on a one-to-one basis at all levels, from planning at the headquarters down to operations at the platoon level, and afghans are taking the lead in operations. when i visited the hellman prove inin the south in september, there were about five u.s. marines for every one afghan soldier. in the coming months, additional afghan forces will be arriving in helman, so that by april, coalition and afghan units will be partnered on a one-to-one

basis as they conduct the key mission of providing security in the helman river valley. and we were genocide that afghan forces will be leading that vital and dangerous mission. senator franken and i saw up close how partnering of coalition and afghan forces are being put into operation. this is not just about joint operations, although that is part of it. it is about afghan and coalition troops living together and integrating their daily lives. this partnering is at the part of our troops' mission, which is to prepare afghan security forces to take responsibility for their nation's security. some fully integrated partnering in the field is already occurring. general rodriguez promised us that he will get data on how many of the units in the field that are planning and operating with coalition units are fully integrated and how often and how

many afghan units are leading significant operations. while we don't need more combat troops for the partnering mission, the shortfall being in the number of afghan troops, the increase in afghan units partnering with us is a significant advance. our military leaders often describe our counterinsurgency doctrine as, quote -- "shape, clear, hold, and build." but this falls short by one key goal -- to shape, clear, hold, and build must be added "transition," meaning our goal must be to transition responsibility for afghan security to their security forces. the commanders in the field we talk to get this and they are fully integrated with partnering

with afghan security forces is the key to this transition. i'm pleased with the speed with which partnering is occurring in the field, but i am disappointed with the shortfall in trainers needed for the afghan army and police. currently only 37% of the required u.s. and nato trainers for building the afghan army and police are on hand in afghanistan or new mexico ircally 1,574 out of a requirement for more than 4,235 trainers. lieutenant general caldwell's training command has been promised the first 1,000 of the 30,000 u.s. soldiers flowing into theater with that surge, and 150 of that 1,000 have already arrived. at the same time, nato countries remain 90% short of meeting the isaf mission requirements for trainers, with less than 200

non-u.s. trainers that were -- 200 non-u.s. trainers deployed against a non-u.s. nato commitment of about 2,000. 2,000 committed by nato, other than our own u.s. trainers, only 200 have arrived on the scene. now, another 200 nato trainers were pledged by nato members in december, but without a time line for when those trainers would arrive in theater, and that is simply unacceptable. those nato countries that are either unwilling or unable to send additional combat troops into the fight in afghanistan should be able to help provide trainers for basic training who operate away from the front lines. lieutenant general caldwell told us that any well-trained u.s. or coalition soldier could instruct afghan soldiers in the eight-week course of basic

training. a top priority for our nato allies at the london conference, which i believe is this week, needs to be closing the gap in trainers for afghan army and police. another area where there has been progress has been on equipping the afghan security forces, and that is critical to accelerating the growth of the afghan army and police. the training command reports that the equipment requirements for the army and police have been identified and listed, and actions are underway to meet those needs, including the equipment coming out of iraq as u.s. forces draw down there. this month equipment began to flow from the iraq theater to afghanistan. and lieutenant general caldwell's staff expects that over 250 of 1,300 humvees from

iraq will begin to arrive this month to meet the needs of the afghan police. this was made possible by the language in the fiscal year 2010 national defense authorization act which authorizes the transfer of nonexcess as well as excess equipment from iraq to afghanistan as u.s. forces draw down in iraq. finally, madam president, relative to plans for the reintegration of lower-level taliban fighters, the karzai government has been working closely with general mcchrystal's staff under the leadership of a british major general to construct a plan offering incentives to low- and mid-level taliban fighters who are willing to lay down their weapon and recognize the afghan government's authority. president karzai has said that he will be ready to issue this

plan within a month or so, and u.s. officials expect to be fully supportive. it will take a few months after that to make the plan operational. while there is apparently no progress to negotiate with higher level taliban to end the violence and become politically active, it doesn't reduce the need to chip away at that lower-level taliban group. we read in the press today that progress is being made. as a matter of fact, with leaders, local leaders in afghanistan in that endeavor. in conclusion, we saw some signs of progress on our visit in a number of critical ways, in training and equipping afghan security forces, in partnering closely in the field with the afghan security forces and a perception and reality of optimism among the military, civilian officials and the afghan people and in devising a plan for reintegrating taliban

fighters who lay down their arms. we have the right strategy and mission for stabilizing the security information and positioning responsibility for afghanistan's future to the afghan army and people. while we're on the right track now, we have a long way to go before we can feel confident that the tide has turned. mapr i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will cth roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

reid madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, this has been a long time in comsmg i think seven or eight months -months. and i have had the distinguished republican leader contact me on more than one occasion asking

when are we going to be able to move this, and i appreciate his continually pressing to move this forward. we're the a point now where we think that we have an opportunity to complete this today. i also want to express my appreciation to my friend from the class of 1982 in the house of representatives, john mccain, who has worked on this as hard as anyone, who has pushed this as much as anyone, for his understanding as to how we should move forward on this. so, madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 215, s. 2799, that the bill be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and it's my understanding -- anyway, that's my consent. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: reserve the right to object.

i will not object, but i just want to point out the importance of this legislation. i think it deserves a roll call vote. we've had discussions with the majority leader and the republican leader. we will hopefully get a roll call vote in the conference report. this situation in iran in terrible and it's worsening. people are dying in the streets of iran as we speak. the amendment that i had proposed, that i had hoped and maybe we can have the conferees included, would have required the president to draw up a list of persons in iran who have committed human rights abusebusr acts of violence against iranian civilians engaging in peaceful political activity, and we would require in the amendment that i would have proposed that the list be made public so the enemies and oppressors of the iranian people can't hide from their crimes. the world would know their

names. and then we could impose visa bans, asset freezes, financial and banking sanctions, et cetera. in the streets of iran today, the iranian students are chanting "obama, obama, are you with us? are you with them?" i appreciate the president's recent statements in support of democracy in iran. i am pleased to see that. i'm pleased to see articles such as one in "newsweek" magazine, "enough is enough." and other support for serious action against iran, who some months ago did not support such action. the majority leader and the republican leader's time is valuable. i'd just like to summarize by saying, this is an important issue, madam president. we've got a country on the road to acquisition of nuclear weapons. we've got brutality and oppression in the streets.

we've got unspeakable brutality taking place in the prisons. people have been killed. a young woman named neta bled to gej in the streets of tehran before the -- bled to death in the streets of tehran before the entire world. so i hope that we will be able to impose these and other necessary actions against this tyrannical, oppressive, brutal regime in iran that i think is coming apart. we want to be on their side, and we want the iranian people to know that we're on their side. i appreciate the accommodation of the majority leader as well as the republican leader, and i know they share my commitment, as does my esteemed and really wonderful friend from connecticut, the democrat senator lieberman. so i will not object. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the senator from arizona has the assurance of the two leaders -- reid and mcconnell -- that there will be a vote when this matter comes back from conference.

and we will -- i'm committed to getting this back just as quickly as we can. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: obviously, i will not be objecting. i just want to say, -- to associate myself with the senator from arizona, to thank him as well as senator lieberman for their involvement in this issue, www.ale www, as well as y leader and just make one comment. frequently, these kinds of unilateral sanctions measures make little or no difference. this measure, however segregation crafted in such a way that it could actually be effective. with america alone, not having to depend upon the cooperation of the other countries that tend to be less concerned about whether iran ultimately becomes armed with nuclear weapons. so this is an important piece of legislation, as the majority leader has said, as senator mccain has said, as senator

lieberman has said. it can actually make a difference. so i'm simply going to ask unanimous consent that after it passes, my remarks appear in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will read the bill for the third time. the clerk: calendar number 215, s.2799, a bill to expand the iran sanctions act of 1996 and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: question is on the passage of the bill. all those in favor say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill is passed. mr. reid: move to reconsider. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: thank you very much.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: we are.

mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: last night the president spoke about many things. i'd like to focus for a moment on just one of them. his comments related to the supreme court's recent decision in citizens united v. the federal election commission. this is an issue to which i devoted a great deal of time over the years, so i think it's important to set the record straight as to what the court did and did not do in this very important and, in my view, correct ruling. here's what the president said, last week the supreme court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections. end quote. that's what the president said last night. here's why he's completely wrong. according to title 2 of u.s. code section 441-e, foreign

nationals, specifically defined to include foreign corporations are prohibited from -- quote -- "directly or indirectly making a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value or to make an expressed or implied promise to make a contribution or donation with the federal, state, or local election." pretty clear. statute goes on to prohibit foreign corporations from making any contribution or donation to any committee of any political party. foreign corporations are also prohibit from making -- quote -- "any expenditure, independent expenditure or disbursement for election communication. end quote. none of those prohibitions were at issue in citizens night. weren't even before the court. in other words, foreign corporations were prohibited from participating in u.s.

elections before citizens united and they still are. unambiguously. so let me make it perfectly clear, citizens united did not change one single thing in current law regarding the prohibition of foreign corporations engaging in u.s. elections. that law remains unchanged. further, madam president, the federal election commission very clear in defining what the prohibition means. here's what the regulation states -- quote -- "a foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process of any person, such as a corporation, labor organization, political committee or political organization with regards to such persons federal or nonfederal election related activities such as decisions concerning the making of contributions, donations,

expenditures or disbursements in connection with elections for any federal, state, or local office or decisions concerning the administration of a political committee. so the law in this matter is crystal clear. contrary to what the president and some of his surrogates in congress say, foreign persons, corporations, partnerships, associations, organizations, or other combination of persons are strictly prohibited. strictly prohibited from any participation in u.s. elections just as they were prohibited before the supreme court citizens united decision. now, i've explained what the ruling did not do. now let me explain what the ruling did do. the court ruled unconstitutional sections of federal law that barred corporations and unions from spending their own money to express their views about issues

and candidates. this was right decision because democracy depends upon free speech. not just for some, but for all. as justice kennedy writing for the majority concluded, under our law and our tradition, it seems stranger than fiction for our government to make political speech a crime. in citizens united the court ended the suppression of corporate and union speech. another way to look at it, madam president, is prior to citizens united, if you were a corporation that owned media company, you could say anything you wanted to 365 days a year without government interference. but if you were a corporation or union that did not own a media company, you couldn't. all this decision did was to level the playing field and

strike an important blow for the first amendment and for free speech in our country. a decision that should be applauded by all, but at the very least not misinterpreted. madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

coming up. virginia tech and virginia renew their relationship tonight this in charlottesville. >> with a full preview brent harris is standing by. >> suspended for rest of the season. who's idea was it to sit gill down the commissioner weighs in. >> how long can they keep this up? cavs believe 8 is not enough. delve into the secrets of their success. at least there is some closure i think from a stand point of the team and try to put it behind us as best we can, move forward and not have the distraction wondering what is going to happen from a stand point if players will be back

or not. >> wizards head coach flip sonders, meeting with the media. more coming your way on that. >> kelli johnson, russ taylor here with you on geico sportsnite. >> from redskins to ravens, zorn may not have to go far to find work. we begin with the common wealth clash in charlottesville tonight. >> and we bring in brent harris who is live at the scene of the battle. what a difference a year makes. this times the not the hokeys but the cavaliers fighting at the top of the acc. >> reporter: you are right kelly. cavaliers playing some pretty good basketball. this is one of those rival games that you can expect just about anything to happen. virginia comes into this game 3 and 1 in the acc a win here tonight will have them at a tie with maryland at the top of the standings. as far as virginia tech, 2 and

2 in the acc but both losses this year have come on the road. by the way virginia so tough here at home they are 10 and 1 including 3 wins against. >> i don't think too many teams have stole real wins yet it is going to be tough especially going into our rival with virginia they beat us last year so that is a game we need to win if we want to be a good team. >> intentionally we have the energy, the passion, it is just at a different level in our league and this league has great traditions. now virginia tech is one of those traditions, it is not just a game but now a league game that means something. >> well, virginia wants to protect the moment court they will have to -- home court they will have to stop delaney scoring an ravage of 19 and a

half points a game. he has 3 and a half rebounds player that can beat you in so many ways. >> it is not just the fact that he can score but the fact that the way he scores effects everyone. he gets to defeat the line a lot. saying that, he is able to knock those down and people guarding him, that effects other teams. so he is a huge threat. just besides the scoring he did, make them better so we will have to be able to contain him. >> with all good players the key is they have to earn what they get. you can't give them a lot of freebies or uncontested looks because they are going to make some tough shots the way it goes they have to earn and that will be important with him. >> reporter: now this will be the 130th meeting between these two schools in their all time

series. a big rival game here tonight. i want the point out, 31 and 11 virginia is here at home against virginia tech if you look in the game notes they claim to be 32 and 10. maybe just one game but it says a lot about how serious this rivalry can be. >> absolutely brett. looks like you are in for a great game tonight. see you afterwards on geico sportsnite. of course it is on the network and coming up later in the show, plenty more on tonight's contest, game announcers, michael and ron break down the cavs back court and you know the saying virginia is for lovers that does not apply to this show down. we will dig deeper into the biggest rielry in the common wealth. >> they violated that, put themselves in potential dangers, their teammates. it is nothing we are going the

tolerate. >> gilbert arena's 50 games. both done for the season in september 21st incident in which guns were brought to the verizon center. after the suspensions were handed down chris miller reports how the team is trying to move forward. >> reporter: the day after league commissioner stern suspended both gilbert and javaris the team returned back to work thursday with both players likeness still above the court as the constant reminder this story is the center piece of the season. >> i was surprised. i think everyone knows the situation and guns in an environment, locker room or place of work is not acceptable and so i think that everyone knew that, we knew how the commissioner stern, i think the one thing we had always given him credit for is that he puts

the league first and foremost and that is always the most important thing when he makes decisions. >> we wish it didn't get to that point but mr. stern, you know, felt it was the right thing to do and we knew it was going to be a severe punishment and the most important thing is that you know, those two guys bounce back quickly as possible and learn from this mistake, i like they are going to do somethings in the community to let kids know they made a mistake it was the wrong thing to i do. >> james tries to continue to reach out to gilbert he said he has not spoken to him in some time. flip sanders has. he said gill expressed remorse for the situation december 21st but for a coach with 601 nba victories, this situation has been mentally draining. >> from a personal stand point, i will be honest, last week i was probably as emotionally worn as i have ever been and that is even going through the

year and conference finals and we played 100 games. you know because it isust a ract getle. arte >> rr: er he mos staplay soiing rtuno luat e pre of a essithle wonmembhowou ayedame. verizon center chris

miller comcast sportsnet. all right wizards hit the road tomorrow night for a game against the mets. you will be able to check outcome cast sportsnet plus at 8:00 p.m. go to csn washington.com and enter key word plus and you will see it in front of your face. we are not done yet with gilbert arena. there is a little he said she said with who came up with the idea to suspend gill for the rest of the season. >> magic johnson gives us his thoughts on the gilbert arenas suspension and what